GCSE's How many point off an A

[streetfox]

Hi, got dds module results back and was wondering if anybody know a website to check how many points she may have been above/below levels on maths/science/history etc. thanks. sorry if this is in the wrong place.

[BeeTeeDotCom]

I am not sure, I think the teacher knows as they said my DD was 1 mark off an A for one of hers which is a bit gutting to know, but at least we know she is doing well.

[LadyLapsang]

The school should be able to give you a table. Otherwise go on to the exam board's website and check.

[streetfox]

thanks, will see if I can find anything!

[mummytime]

Ask the teachers, my DS was 1 mark off an A, and 3 on the other paper, but as they aren't "cashed in" yet he can improve.

[mumeeee]

mummytime I never understand what people mean by cashing in. Surely if you hace done GCSE's and have got the results, That is the final result and you can't improve ules you ask for a remark or resit.

[MmeBlueberry]

Look up the awarding body's website.

I do Edexcel Science and the grade boundaries are 90% A*, 80% A, 70% B, etc.

These % are of UMS marks, not the raw marks from the paper. The results sheet should show the UMS marks.

[Goblinchild]

My DS's school have applied for one of his Y10 modules to be remarked, so why not ask BeeTeeDotCom and mummytime?

[MmeBlueberry]

Mumeeee,

If you are doing a modular course, it means you are doing papers up to three times a year, as well as controlled assessments. You can't cash in these modules until you have done all the modules you need.

Typically, when students are entered for their final exams in June of Y11, the school sets the cash in process in motion.

In a modular course, it is possible to retake modules to improve the marks.

[MmeBlueberry]

beeteedotcom,

It really doesn't matter how far off an A your DD was for one of her modules. It is what she gets when they are all added together that matters. If she is doing strategic resits, then it is usually best to do ones that she has done badly in, as these modules have more scope for improvement.

[brassband]

Can I hijack this thread.DS has done 2 modules now in each of biology physics and chemistry.he has had A s in all except one chemistry when he was 3 marks off an A
He is talking about resiiting this module , but I think he is better spending more time revising for the next module and trying to pick up an extra mark there than studying for resit and new module at the same time and hoping to geT A* in both?
What would you wise folks advise?

[SleepingLion]

When my students took a literature module in January, I advised those who were one or two marks off an A not to bother resitting to try to get the A but to concentrate on working for their June modules.

After all, the grade you get in the modules is irrelevant, it is the number of marks you earn that matters - better for your DS to focus on the new modules and doing as well as he can in them.

[MmeBlueberry]

Brassband, I assume he is doing triple science?

It is pretty hard to get a higher mark on a resit unless you get more teaching. It is better to focus on the current modules, because resit efforts can take away from these.

What we have found is that it is beneficial to chose weaker Year 10 modules, including practicals, to resit. There is little to be gained from resitting strong modules because then, even on a good day, you might just be picking up 1 or 2 marks. When you resit weak modules, there is a good chance that you will pick up 10 - 20 marks, which should be enough to take you into the next grade.

A student that struggled to do well in Year 10 is unlikely to both do well in resit, and to do themselves justice in Year 11.

[snorkie]

Brassband, I generally agree with sleepinglion. Retakes are usually better for students who want to boost their points score by a lot rather than by just a few points.

However, I think it's relevent what marks your ds actually got in the first chemistry module and also on the practical (ISA) if he's done one already (lots of children get lower marks on this than on the exams). The third chemistry module is a bit harder than the second (according to ds), so if the combined total of all his chemistry marks so far leave him very close to the A boundary (either side) and if the A is very important to him then it might be worth resitting.

[brassband]

Have just asked him, He got 48 UMS But he seems to think that isn't the same as marks.It's AQA if that makes any difference
(think they should have a GCSE in understanding GCSEs)

[snorkie]

Ds did AQA too and all his UMS marks were out of 100, so that just confuses things further! It sounds as though he's done two unit 1 papers (1A and 1B) each of which would be out of 50 (UMS). 48/50 would then be 3 UMS marks above an A* - so that result alone cancels out the module 2 one I think which is promising! He should also have results from another paper as well though.

so in summary the whole GCSE is comprised of:
unit 1: 1 paper worth 100UMS or 2 papers worth 50 UMS each
unit 2: 1 paper worth 100 UMS
unit 3: 1 paper worth 100 UMS
ISA: worth 100 UMS (usually best of two)

for all the elements and the whole, 80%=A, 90%=A*.

Does he know his ISA result yet? They usually do two (one in year 10 and one in year 11) and use the best result. The teachers don't always tell (in fact they can't know officially what UMS the raw ISA results translates to as it changes a bit each year even for the same test), but if you can get an indication as to whether it's above/below A* and roughly how close it might help.

If his ISA hasn't let him down badly and assuming he got A* (so at least 45UMS) for the other paper 1, then as long as he is confident on all the unit 3 topics he should be OK.

Several of ds's friends did drop a grade on the final round of modules though (but one at least pulled up a grade as well, so it can go that way as well).

[BeeTeeDotCom]

MmeBlueberry - sorry just come back to this thread, and I think I have confused people. DD got 1 mark of an A for the whole subject, not a module. I meant 'one of hers' as in Geography.

So, although we discussed a re-mark, DD decided to leave it and just go into the 'A' Level .

[bulby]

48 UMS marks on an aqa science module is an A*. As other people have said though this foes not equate to 2 marks off full marks as UMS takes into accoutrements the tier if the paper and difficulty of individual questions etc (36 marks give 50UMS points on a higher module test)

[bulby]

Jeez I don't know what my phone did to my last post, it made sense when I typed it
Sorry about that